After the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio, five drivers had solid chances for the 2018 championship: four-time Verizon IndyCar Series champions Scott Dixon leading in points with Alexander Rossi, Josef Newgarden, Will Power, and Ryan Hunter-Reay in chase. Before the tenth lap of the ABC Supply 500 at Pocono, a shocking shunt on Turn 2 sent rookie Robert Wickens flying into the fence with only the car’s tub landing back on the track, bringing out the red flag and ending the race for the five drivers involved, including Hunter-Reay. Wickens was airlifted to hospital after Takuma Sato, Pietro Fittipaldi, Hunter-Reay, and Schmidt Peterson Motorsport team mate James Hinchcliffe were evaluated by medical staff and cleared.

How to even write about the race after that? Its importance pales in comparison to the health of the 29 year old driver hanging in the balance. At the time of publishing, Wickens has undergone spinal surgery, placing titanium rods and screws to stabilize a thoracic spinal fracture. Other injuries include a pulmonary contusion and fractures to his lower legs and right arm.

Pennsylvania has been getting a lot of rain. So much rain, in fact, there have been destructive floods in the Pocono region. The rain didn’t spare INDYCAR the weekend; a light drizzle started at the end of afternoon qualifications. Verizon Team Penske Chevy driver Will Power’s qualifying run averaged 219.511 mph winning him his 53rd career INDYCAR pole, tying with A.J. Foyt for second and picking up a bonus point for being the fastest on the track. Then came a downpour, and the last practice was cancelled. Crucial in hindsight, perhaps, as Pocono isn’t called the Tricky Triangle for nothing; the 2.5 mile track’s three turns are modeled after turns at other famous tracks paired with long straightaways. Turn 2’s 9 degree banking after Indianapolis Motor Speedway is said to be the fastest. INDYCAR has been back at the family-friendly Pocono Raceway since 2013 after a 23-year absence, and at the start of the ABC Supply 500 weekend the series announced they will be back for 2019.

More overnight showers left the track wet and the paddocks plagued with puddles. The morning of race day, all that could be heard was the track blowers drying the track, but the tarmac finally dried and was approved for racing. All of Team Penske took the front row – Will Power had pole with Josef Newgarden, Alexander Rossi, Hunter-Reay, Simon Pagenaud and Wickens rounding out the first three rows on the starting grid. Prior to driver introductions, spectators were treated to a parade of classic race cars. Country singer Lee Greenwood took the stage to sing the national anthem, the grid was cleared, and everyone waited for the drivers to start their engines.

As the safety car peeled off into the pits for the green flag, Ed Carpenter Racing’s Spencer Pigot in the 21 car and Graham Rahal’s #15 RLL Racing turned each other around at the back of the pack – and the first yellow flag of the day. After racing resumed, Alexander Rossi passed Will Power to take the lead.

Under Lap 8’s red flag, the cars headed to the pits, and drivers were allowed to leave the cars. There was an instant pall over the Tricky Triangle, punctuated by the occasional roar of an engine revving to keep the cars ready to race. The track crew removed debris and repaired an entire section of the catch fence, while other drivers on the ground were interviewed and the crowd was updated when more news was released on the driver’s conditions. After nearly two hours, the track was once again ready for racing, though unapproved work on their cars during the red flag got drivers Graham Rahal and Spencer Pigot each a two-lap penalty.

For the remaining 192 laps, there seemed to be a concerted effort by all drivers to keep the rest of the race free of further incident. Will Power passed Rossi and briefly took the lead in leap 137, but Rossi passed him again and maintained the lead for the rest of the race. Power took the second spot on the podium, and Scott Dixon worked his way up to third from 13th on the grid.

Going into Saturday’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline at Gateway Motorsports Park in St. Louis, Missouri, there are now only 29 points between leader Scott Dixon and ABC Supply 500 winner Alexander Rossi. Newgarden is 36 points behind Rossi with 464 season points, and Power is in fourth with 449 points.

Despite the critics and naysayers, Formula e is sticking around. Even better, it seems to like New York City, and for the second year in a row set up a course in the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn for the final two races for Season 4. There was a little less hoopla this time around, and New Yorkers flocked in the heat (and, a first for Formula e – rain!) to the 2.373km track – even if my NY brethren are still unclear on how to properly walk over the track stairs.

Because of the huge emphasis on being Green, the series ran shuttle busses to two main subway stations to encourage people to take public transportation. The track for the electric race cars is set on the large parking lot of the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, with the narrow cobblestone feeder streets blocked to traffic. The series attracts a curious mix of race fans, techie types, and curious people just looking for something interesting to do on the weekend.

The behind-the-scenes technology is fascinating. Formula e uses 18” Michelin tyres designed specifically for the series, and can be used in both dry and rain conditions. Unlike Indy Car or Formula 1, a good portion of the sponsors are tech companies that also partner with the teams. Speaking with Patrick Hurley, Vice President and General Manager of Acronis Americas, he told me that each team generated hundreds of gigs of valuable information each day. That information needs to be saved and protected on site. Acronis partners with the Renault e.dams team to store data ranging from simulations, video feeds, and telemetry.

Most importantly – there was racing. Earlier in the year at the New York International Auto Show, inaugural champion Nelson Piquet Jr. did donuts in the Panasonic Jaguar Racing formula a car, and he was back in New York for the season finale. Last year Formula 1 driver Sébastien Buemi couldn’t make the NY race, but this year ended up winning the Pole in New York driving for Renault e.dams.

Much to the delight of the drivers, the track was changed this year – longer, wider in spots, with more turns. The longer straight into Turn 7 and out of Turn 10 actually allowed for the chance to pass, making the race more competitive and exciting. “Formula e started something completely new so all the tracks were very conservative. All the Formula e tracks are becoming faster speeds, and longer straights, less chicanes, so for this year the chicane here is quicker, and the new part allows you to have a slightly longer straight, so that’s what we need. We need longer straights, we need a little bit more fast corners,” said Lucas di Grassi, “…if you make a track without overtaking points, for example Paris, it’s very difficult to overtake. Short straights with not really much space it becomes less of a race.”

Starting out in 11thposition, Lucas di Grassi (Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler),worked his way up over the race. It looked like the race would finish under a yellow flag after Alex Lynn crashed, but with about five minutes to go the course went green, and di Grassi took the checkered flag followed by teammate Daniel Abt and Sebastien Buemi.

After the champagne spray, Jean-Eric Vergne, TECHEETAH was crowned the season champion. “I can’t believe it – what a crazy race – god it feels good… I have waited the whole season for this. When I crossed the line I honestly didn’t know I had won. My engineer told me, ‘I guess we’ve done it,’, so I said, ‘what do you mean?’ Then Lotterer went past me and clapped, so I knew something was up. When I found out I was speechless. I enjoyed the race, but obviously, it was very tough. Some drivers were quite hard and overconsumed energy to try and not let m e by. It was actually really complicated, a real fight unlike in Zurich – today, the drivers were tougher!”

SATURDAY GALLERY (Sunday race results and gallery follows):

Sunday’s qualifying took place on a wet course after some morning rain – then the course was completely close as a thunderstorm blew through. Not the sort of electric we were looking for, but it passed over fairly quickly and the drivers headed out to the starting grid on time. TECHEETAH’s Jean-Eric Vergne crossed the finish line first, with Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler’s Daniel Abt and Lucas di Grassi in second and third, respectively, and narrowly winning the team title over TECHEETAH.

The next season should prove to be the most interesting year for the series with the Gen 2 car. Using a new battery from McLaren Applied Technologies and Atieva will allow the drivers shed their range anxiety, running the entire race in the same car – no more car changes halfway through a 45-minute race. Season 5 starts in Saudi Arabia December, 2018.

SUNDAY GALLERY:

GEN 2

GEN 2

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On Sunday May 27, 2018, the Indy 500 will be raced for the 102nd time. When the dust settled on Bump Day, the 33 drivers that qualified wasn’t a surprise but the two that didn’t make it was definitely a disappointing shock. Pippa Mann in the #63 Dayle Coyne Racing kept losing speed, and James Hinchcliffe had issues as well and neither made the cut. Ultimately Hinchcliffe announced Thursday that all options were exhausted, ending all chances to race on Sunday – and will no doubt affect his current #5 position in championship points. Danica Patrick, in her final race before retirement, rounded out the top nine at 9th on the starting grid.

In the week leading up to the 2018 Indy 500, drivers traveled to different cities to publicize the race. Reigning champion Takuma Sato visited New York City where he was toasted by the Japanese Ambassador and talked with the media. I was able to chat with Sato, an all-around nice guy and consummate sportsman, for a couple minutes and ask him about the exciting last five laps of his win, what winning the race means to him, and what the competition in this year’s race looks like.

PCG: In last year’s Indy 500, I couldn’t breathe in those last five laps before you took the checkered flag. Can you speak to how important it was to you to win and take the [Borg-Warner] trophy to Japan?

Sato: Well, as I said on the stage here it was just an unbelievable experience and was really the significant moment in my life and it just feels amazing really and every single aspect was a huge experience for me. And like you said, yes, bringing the trophy to Japan is one of amazing story because not only my ambition but also for the entire Indycar and all winners in 83 years of history they’ve never done it in our strategy. So I think a lot of people’s commitment showing a lot of people’s appreciation is really truly showing that it is happening and I don’t know how to say, but it is just a dream come true.

So the last five laps was very touch-go move because for me… So 10 laps to go and Max Chilton, another driver leading the race and he by himself is really fast, so… I mean could overtake him but it was really risky because he was so fast. And I was just trying to figure out how I can overtake him as well as how I could protect him as well. So I was learning on quite a few laps. And Helio Castroneves charging me and he overtook me, impressive move in turn 3 on outside. When I saw it I knew that Helio is doing the same thing to Max. So instead of chasing Helio I basically let him do it. And in fact, he overtook him two laps later and then he lost momentum – so Max lost momentum – that’s the time I could overtake him. Now it’s between Helio and I, right. So I could wait until last lap to overtake Helio, however if I do so, what if there is a yellow comes in, right? And that means I will be finishing in second before I challenge, and I didn’t want to make that happen. However, if I overtook with three laps to go he will re-overtake me and that would be the end of the story. So I was thinking, how do we do it? And five laps to me is the magic number. Because I overtake him, see how many laps he can take to come back and attempt, whether it was first lap or second lap, or third lap. And the only thing I didn’t know was whether he couldn’t or didn’t. If he didn’t that would be a problem because that means he could be out of sequence. However when I saw him make an attempt three laps later I overtook him which is two laps to and by that time I realized if I could hold the pace I could win because by the time I pull away he takes another two laps to come back which is checkered flag. So to me either way the five laps to go when I lead I can do very… how to you say in English?

PCG: Strategic?

Sato: Noooo… Flexible! Can be very flexible in any circumstance. So that’s the way I saw it. And it became as I saw it. And obviously this is a rare case because usually the reality doesn’t go to the way you planned it. But – that was the day I got so much luck, so much environment, physically I have a very fast car, and mentally I was so relaxed and strong and I was able to compete on the highest level with the guy I could trust one hundred percent because Helio Castroneves is the guy to beat for Indy 500 so I was very happy in that moment.

PCG: In this Indy 500, you will be racing with five previous winners. Are you looking forward to a really competitive race?

Sato: Yes! I’m really looking forward to it, in fact it’s going to be a really tough challenge, honestly speaking, of course, nothing is impossible so I will try my best but looking at the circumstances it will be extremely tough to do the race but I think it will be great. Obviously, Alexander Rossi, and Helio Castroneves, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Scott Dixon and myself… who else, I don’t know, but it can be anybody else. So I think it’s going to be a great show for sure and any of the result I think I will accept, however, hopefully I wish we can have a big smile after the race, yes.

PCG: After some of the issues in practice, are you feeling more confident going into Friday’s practice?

Sato: I think the honest answer is yes and no. Physically and mentally myself I am ready to take action, of course. The car, unfortunately we had some issues, we have some struggles, but I think the engineers work so hard and squeeze out the last one percent of speed for Qualifying 1 and Qualifying 2 showing a huge step forward so I believe we can build a car as competitive as possible to check the things on the fly on Carb Day and if that’s the case, I think a 16 spread has no meaning. I can move up and I can compete for the win and that’s what I want to do.

As one series dies a rather ignominious death, another rises. Red Bull Global Rallycross quietly cancelled its 2018 calendar earlier this spring after a last-ditch effort to save the series by adding Polaris and changing over to spec cars couldn’t save it from financial issues. Through the ashes comes ARX Americas Rallycross, a new series from IMG, a large marketing corporation that boasts UFC in its portfolio and partners with diverse clients such as the international Frieze art fair.

Americas Rallycross Championship will launch May 25-27, 2018 at Silverstone’s Speedmachine Festival in the UK. Two teams from GRC will be racing in the debut – Subaru Rally Team’s Patrik Sandell, Chris Atkinson, and rally driver David Higgins, as well as Andretti Rallycross’ Tanner Foust and Scott Speed, returning in the Beetles. Rounding out the field are Philippe Maloigne, Andy Scott, Liam Doran, Timo Scheider, and Rene Munnich.

Other teams have indicated that they will join future races – Steve Arpin with Loenbro Motorsports announced he looks forward to racing in select races in partnership with Ken Block’s Hoonigan racing team. Arpin said, “The support from our owners, Paul and Jon Leach of Loenbro, our sponsors and our fans during our GRC run has been unbelievable. We have accomplished so much as a small, private team. We’ve earned a tremendous opportunity to work closely with Ken Block and Hoonigan.” He will continue racing in the Ford Focus RS RX.

Monster trucks have come a long way since the days of smashing cars between tractor pull events. Over the years, Monster Jam as evolved into multiple divisions staging events at stadium and arenas in North America as well as international venues in Australia, Europe, and South America. Winning drivers from all series compete in the Monster Jam World Finals traditionally in Las Vegas.

If you’ve never actually been to Monster Jam, it’s a cacophonous cross between Mad Max and professional wrestling. Each truck has its own personality with bold graphics more like a Misfits album cover (early Misfits. You know, when they were good) and truck names like Gravedigger, Zombie (with actual bouncing zombie arms), Max-D with metal spikes, Great Clips Mohawk Warrior (it has a mohawk), and Rage with a huge anarchy sign emblazoned on the side. Punk rock sensibilities aside, there is something for everyone with other trucks such as Scooby Doo, Lucas Oil Crusader, or team Team Hot Wheels Firestorm.

Zombie

Underneath all of the eye-popping graphics, though, is some serious gear. I had the opportunity to spend the morning talking with some drivers and climbing around their trucks the day before Monster Jam at MetLife Stadium in the Meadowlands, New Jersey last week. Essentially spec trucks, most of the Monster Jam trucks are fabricated by Feld for the series. Chatting with Tom Meents, a driver in the series since 1993, I found out that the engines are ,500 horsepower. Going full throttle, a truck can burn 5 gallons of methanol– around a quarter of a tank – in 17 to 22 seconds. Any repairs, refueling, or tire changes are generally done off course within the stadium, not in a traditional motor sports pit set-up. The tires are almost 700 pounds, so it’s not a precisely orchestrated change done in seconds.

Monster Truck tire change

Potential drivers audition and are trained at Monster Jam U. Kayla Blood and Brianna Mahon, both with several years of Monster Jam experience, started at Monster U after previously competing in motocross and other sports. They say it is helpful to have a motorsports background, but not necessary. Looking at the driver roster, it’s obvious that there are a lot more women racing Monster Trucks than there are in most other motorsports. In fact, it was only in 2005 when the first woman – the legendary Madusa – won the Monster Jam World Finals racing championship. Blood is on the El Toro Team and has been competing since 2016, and Mahon since 2015. This is Mahon’s first year in her own truck Whiplash, with black and teal graphics and a more “country girl” personality. Both drivers say that it’s a really great atmosphere in Monster Jam, and it’s one big family. Mahon is especially conscientious of how much representation matters, and likes inspiring the little girls that love the series.

Whiplash

Installing the actual track is fairly intensive. MetLife Stadium is where the New York Giants and New York Jets play – it’s a football field with turf. For obvious reasons, the trucks don’t race on the football field itself, rather, planks of plywood are put down over the grass. Approximately 7,500 tons of dirt is spread on top, creating the dirt floor, ramps, and mounds for the trucks to race and perform stunts. Tear down happens fairly immediately after the end of the show, as the grass will start to die after more than a couple of days stuck under the track (in arenas with grass). The dirt is then stored locally to be reused in the following year’s Monster Jam.

The afternoon of the race, the trucks are brought out for the fan-friendly Pit Party. Fans can meet the drivers and get autographs, and sponsors have special booths out as well. It’s like Halloween party in May, really – cotton candy comes with masks for trucks such as El Toro Loco or Grave Digger. I took one of the Monster Jam truck rides – two trucks especially equipped with seats in the back – whipping around the parking lot at top speed. There’s a lot of fun things for kids like learning how to drive an ATV and BMX bike shows.

Monster Jam Pit Party

Unfortunately, because of this never-ending rain we are having, both the practice I was going to watch the day before and the private track walk before the Main Event were cancelled due to the extremely muddy track, as well as the Two-Wheel event during the show. As the trucks made their entrance for the Main Event, the rain started to pour again. However, Monster Jam happens rain or shine, and the mud ensured an interesting evening. The first half is the race – growling trucks line either side of the arena, matched according to a bracket. In New Jersey, the trucks circle the course opposite and navigate over jumps opposite of each other. The first truck to cross the finish line wins the heat. After the second round, from the starting field of fourteen, Grave Digger faced Brutus and Team Hot Wheels Firestorm raced against Whiplash in the Semi-Finals. Ultimately Grave Digger took the win over Team Hot Wheels Firestorm in the Final.

Grave Digger

After an intermission, they all come back for the Freestyle and undoubtedly most fun part of the evening. In the freestyle competition, each truck has two minutes on the course to performs stunts and wow the crowd. The fans are involved in the scoring and have twenty seconds after each competitor to score via smartphone at JudgesZone.com, where the scores are then averaged. At this point, the trucks resembled angry mechanical mud bugs writhing around the course. The conditions weren’t right for the spectacular, crowd-pleasing backflips, but there was a lot of big air, sky wheelies and mud-spewing donuts. There were also a couple of tire blow-outs, roll overs, and Mad Scientist quite literally blew up on the track. Halfway through, the edges of the track were littered with the carcasses of the trucks that didn’t make it. Muddy, muddy carnage. Still, VP Racing Fuels’ Mad Scientist won the Freestyle vent with a high score of 9.109. Great, great fun.

On a Friday evening with a thunderstorm slowly building in the distance, a gorgeous piece of automotive history changed hands off Park Avenue in upper Manhattan. The 1964 Cheetah, one of only eleven original design ever made, was auctioned off by its owner of 53 years who was only the second owner of the car. Built by Bill Thomas with Chevrolet to be their answer to the Shelby Cobra, Cheetah #4 was the first to be made of fiberglass after the aluminum prototypes. The unmodified, un-refinished car was raced extensively in its early years – and it’s got the pitted paint to prove it. Talking to the family, it’s amazing how many original parts it has. It was built with three fuel tanks for racing, but the two on the side were taken out (but kept), the injection holes visible in front of the side mirrors. Two original magnesium wheels – with original tires from the 60’s! – come with the car, though they aren’t on the car in the pictures. Even the headlights are original – in fact, the owner’s son-in-law said that this was the first time he had ever seen them in the car, re-installed for the sale.

Designed as a coupe for better aerodynamics, the Cobra Killer’s slim gullwing doors are lifted by hand for the driver to slide in. The driver’s legs are by the engine, and it can get a bit hot very quickly. Chevy influence is under the hood powered by a Chevrolet Corvette 327 Rochester in the front and a C2 Corvette rear differential. It was clocked at speeds up to 215 MPH. It hasn’t been driven than hard for years though; it has enjoyed a long retirement being displayed at classic car shows and driven moderately at vintage races. Either way, there’s no way to tell tow many miles have been put on the car as the original design did not include an odometer.

The Cheetah was much-loved by the family gathered in New York City, and the auction was bittersweet. While sad to see such a cherished member of the family go, they were also excited about selling the car and passing it on to the next owner to be enjoyed. Held outdoors in the courtyard between Guernsey’s auction house and the Russian Orthodox Church, there was no reserve – the car was going to be sold no matter what. Sam Goins, the seller, started the engine for the very last time before bidding started. Bidding began at $300,000, with several bidders present and on the phone. The bidding slowly went up, up… until the auctioneers on the phone both gave the cut-off signal. The final in-person bidder won the auction and the car for $625,000. After chatting so much with the family about the car, I even got a little lump in my throat when the bidding was over. The old and new owner shook hands and the Cheetah legacy was passed on to another enthusiast.

With the New York International Auto Show slightly slimmed down for 2018, some of the individual manufacturer’s booths followed suit. Fewer OEM’s showcased their race cars, and while there was a noticeable lack of rally cars on the show floor, there were still enough race cars to make the show worth it.

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With a major emphasis on electric vehicles, a slightly pared-down New York International Auto Show opened its doors to media on the Wednesday and Thursday before the Easter / Passover weekend. True to trend, some of the major launches happened off-site in the days leading up to the official media days, while some skipped any sort of event at all. The North Hall was closed and many of the major automaker booths were conspicuously smaller than previous years, there were still some notable launches.

Toyota kicked the media frenzy off with the new 2019 RAV4, but the real star was the hot little Corolla hatch. First off – manual transmission. I don’t think I really have to type anything else after that, but for word count purposes, it’s 2.0 L Four-Cylinder, Six-Speed iMT Manual Transmission. Also featured is Amazon Alexa integration for creepy laughing when down shifting.

Volkswagen showed up with a pick-up truck. A LIT pick-up truck. The short-bed Atlas Tanoak has a 276-horsepower V6 FSI® gasoline engine, eight-speed automatic transmission, and all-wheel drive. The both the grille and the bumper of the mid-size five-seater have strips of LED lighting.

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Subaru birthed the 2019 Forester surrounded by previous generations. The fifth generation SUV will be available in five trim levels, including the new Sport. The new 2.5-liter SUBARU BOXER four-cylinder engine boasts 182 hp and 176 lb-ft of torque, and the interior has more leg and head room thanks to increased wheelbase.

Croatia has many cool things like Bokar Fortress (King’s Landing in Game of Thrones), but you’d be forgiven it’s not the first place you’d think of when it comes to cars. Well, then, there;s the Rimac Automobili. The C_TWO hypercar is damn pretty. Also, electric. Everything you would want in a car you can never afford – slick design, butterfly doors, all the carbon fiber, an electric motor powering each wheel, radar, on-board cameras, and a top speed of 412 km/h (258 mph).

Undoubtedly the standout of all of the launches, the Genesis Essentia concept is simply stunning. Standing there staring like everyone was after the launch, you can see the designer’s hand in every single line on the body.

Rather appropriate considering the holiday, Fisker has been resurrected as Karma with a presence on the show floor.

In quirky-but-cool, Super 8 – yes, the motel chain – has a customized Jeep called the ROADM8. It has a built-in coffee maker. This is all that I needed to know. SOLD.

OH AND ROUSH HAD A MUSTANG.

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After the media frenzy, a parade of EV’s drove down 11th Avenue in front of the Javits Center preceding the official public opening. Panasonic Jaguar Racing driver Nelson Piquet led the EV procession, doing donuts in the championship Formula e.

Actor/comedian Tracy Morgan followed the Formula e car and the Jaguar I-PACE in the World Endurance Championship LMP1 title-winning Porsche 919 Hybrid that won 24 Hours of Le Mans three times.

On the heels of Red Bull Global Rallycross’s announcement to change to spec cars with the Gold series, they have announced that the Platinum series to replace Super Cars for 2019. Also spec cars, GRC claims that it will lower the barriers to entry by lowering cost. According to the press release, “The new Platinum class vehicle will utilize a tube frame chassis that is lighter and more agile than current Supercars, with a higher displacement engine promising performance and endurance never before seen in top-tier rallycross racing.”

The cars will first be raced in a demonstration at the 2018 series finale at Lydden Hill in October. This also launches plans for the GRC Champions Cup, expanding to a complementary series in GRC Europe. The European season will run concurrent with the North America series, culminating in a championship race with drivers from both sides of the Atlantic. GRC CEO Colin Dyne says, “Our goal is to open up the competitive landscape to make it more accessible for drivers and teams to participate and showcase their driving skills. Plus, the addition of the GRC Champions Cup will bring together the best drivers from both continents to crown the ‘King of Rallycross’.”

In a surprising move, Red Bull Global Rallycross announced that a single, spec-series type rally cross car will replace Super Cars in the 2018 season. Now called Gold class, seven events will feature the cars. Looking forward to 2019, a Platinum-class purpose-built rallycross car will be introduced. The Gold series car has been created to level the playing field, so to speak, and highlight driver skill. The move may be perplexing to many fans of the series, however, as rallycross was originally launched with factory-built street cars bought from dealers then modified for racing. This approach appealed to brand enthusiasts and casual car fans alike, with a nod to the series’ roots in rally. The past three seasons have been dominated by Scott Speed of Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross winning the championship – perhaps Volkswagen’s recent domination of the series was an impetus for the switch – but previous to Volkswagen’s championship streak, Ford consistently topped the podium.

Red Bull GRC is definitely expanding the series and horizons having introduced the off-roading Polaris RZR® RS1 and the new Polaris class debuting in 2018. The series is also putting “outside of North America” back into the Global part of its name by announcing the season finale at Lydden Hill, UK, the birthplace of rallycross.

The 2018 season kicks off June 9-10 at Lancaster National Speedway in Buffalo, New York, the only east coast venue within shouting distance of Canada. It then heads to New Orleans, Los Angeles, Indianapolis, Atlantic City, Seattle, then Lydden Hill.